Rafael Boza | Lawyer

I always appreciated Rafael's no nonsense approach to legal work and the transparency in his legal advice.

—VP North America at second largest crane company in world.

Rafael T. Boza focuses his practice on all aspects of international arbitration, dispute resolution and litigation. He also practices in transactions and corporate matters.

Rafael has over 20 years of experience advising local and multinational companies, litigating and arbitrating. A bilingual practitioner (English and Spanish) with working knowledge of Portuguese, he is admitted to practice law in Texas, New York and Peru. His experience includes providing legal services in the United States and abroad, utilizing his comprehensive legal knowledge of multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, Latin America, and Europe.

Rafael serves as counsel in ICC, AAA/ICDR, ICSID, and LCIA arbitrations involving construction, energy, infrastructure, and investment-related disputes, and has acted as an arbitrator in approximately a dozen cases. His recent matters include complex arbitrations and litigations across the United Statesand Latin America. He is frequently entrusted with managing bilingual proceedings and crafting arbitration clauses that anticipate enforcement and public-policy issues. Rafael possesses a deep understanding of international arbitration law and procedural rules and is skilled in handling all stages of the arbitration process, from drafting arbitration agreements and initiating proceedings, to conducting hearings and enforcing arbitral awards. He is also a seasoned litigator representing clients in litigation in state and federal courts in Texas and other jurisdictions.

Rafael is also an accomplished transactional lawyer, experienced in structuring and negotiating a wide range of business deals.

As a former in-house counsel in the Americas region for two important European companies, Rafael is also experienced and familiar with large companies’ approaches to legal operations, risk management and compliance activities in the Americas. He understands the pressures in-house counsel faces in overseeing all legal aspects of commercial deals, supply chain, project execution, general compliance programs, trainings and investigations, within strict budgetary constraints. With that experience, he is able to provide his clients with tailored legal services, which are both effective and efficient.

Beyond his client work, Rafael plays a prominent role in the international arbitration community. He serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the ITA in Review journal, contributes regularly to leading publications such as Global Arbitration Review and Kluwer Arbitration Blog, and speaks frequently at industry events, including Washington Arbitration Week 2025 and other conferences throughout the Americas. He has also appeared on the podcast The Advocate Next Door. Rafael recently completed the ICC Advanced Arbitration Academy for North America (2023–24), deepening his understanding of ICC arbitration from the arbitrator’s perspective.

Rafael’s cross-jurisdictional versatility, thought leadership and client-focused approach have enhanced the firm’s ability to deliver exceptional results in complex cross-border matters. He has a strong command of cross-cultural and multilingual dynamics and can arbitrate and litigate cases and conduct arbitral hearings, in English, Spanish, or bilingual hearings, if needed.

Representative Experience

Serving as arbitrator in a multimillion-dollar ICDR arbitration concerning a highway concession dispute in Latin America.
Representing a Latin American conglomerate in a joint venture transaction.
Representing a manufacturer of smoking products in a $40 million ICDR arbitration.

Participating in the representation of a party to a $250 million LCIA arbitration involving LNG trading with Mexico.

Representing a client in complex multimillion-dollar trucking litigation in state court in Kansas.

Representing a client in complex multimillion-dollar tort litigation in state court in Florida.

Represented pro bono client defending Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, International Child Abduction Remedies Act claims; obtained complete defense judgment after trial in the Southern District of Texas.

Advised leading Swiss tower fields services company in transaction with major national oil company to work on the refurbishment of a large refinery in South America.

Represented small business in a client claim litigation which involved complex corporate matters.

Secured recovery in excess of $5 million for a leading crane company on insurance claim related to Hurricane Harvey’s floods.

Secured recovery in excess of $11 million for a leading crane company on insurance claim.

Professional Highlights

Co-chair, District 4 of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee (UPLC), State Bar of Texas
Past Chair, Houston Bar Association, International Law Section
Past Co-chair, Houston Bar Association, Fee Dispute Committee

Co-editor-in-chief, ITA in Review, Center for American and International Law, Institute for Transnational Arbitration

Arbitrator Certification, ICC Advanced Arbitration Academy for North America, 2023–2024

Blog Posts
- “Performance Bond Primer: Need to Knows and Need to Dos,” Pillsbury’s Gravel2Gavel, Jan. 26, 2022.
- “How to Lose Your Contractor’s License in 90 Days (or Less): California and Louisiana,” Pillsbury’s Gravel2Gavel, Oct. 27, 2021.

External Publications
- “Chinese Participation in the Investor-State Dispute Settlement System,” The Institute for Transnational Arbitration, 2024. Coauthor.
- “The Sultan of Sulu Award: Is It Enforceable in the U.S. under the New York Convention?”, The Institute for Transnational Arbitration, 2022.
- “Substantive Protections: Expropriation,” The Guide to Investment Treaty Protection and Enforcement - First Edition, GAR, January 2022. Coauthor.
- “Protectionist Amendments to Peru’s Arbitration Law Disguised as Transparency,” Kluwer Arbitration blog, 2020.
- “The Amorphous “Form” Objection,” 4 HLRe: Off the Record 73, 2014.
- “Expansion of the Lawyer’s Role to Problem Solver: Increased Opportunities for Pro Bono Work,” 51 South Texas Law Review 3, 2010. Coauthor.
- “Caveat Arbiter: The U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, Peruvian Arbitration Law, and the Extension of the Arbitration Clause to Non-Signatories. Has Peru Gone Too Far?” Currents: International Trade Law Journal, Summer, 2009.
- “Protecting Andean Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity. Perspectives under the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement,” Currents: International Trade Law Journal, Summer 2008.

Education

J.D., South Texas College of Law, 2009

Postgraduate Degree, Peruvian University of Applied Sciences, 2005
Electricity, Gas & Energy Law, Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC)

LL.M., Catholic University of Leuven, 2002
cum laude

LL.B., University of Lima, 1999

Admissions

Texas

New York

Peru

Courts

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

Languages

Spanish

Portuguese

Rafael T. Boza

Representative Experience

Professional Highlights

Washington Arbitration Week 2026

Washington Arbitration Week 2025

Foreign Lawyers Roundtable and Networking Forum

IBA Annual Conference

The 28th Annual South Texas Law Review Ethics Symposium: The Ethical Life Cycle of Arbitration

Rafael T. Boza

Areas of Focus

Practices

Representative Experience

Professional Highlights

Rafael's Insights